BLACK FRIDAY (1940)
Time for a genre mash-up. With Boris Karloff no longer playing his parts from under a heavy layer of appliances, his roles shifted towards scientist instead of monster. In this case a rather shady doctor who's eager to try out a new brain transplant theory. The other elements of the story are not really about medical research or technology. Instead this is actually a gangster revenge story. It sounds like a recipe for success, a merging of older expressionist horror and newer film noir elements. But the film itself is strangely lifeless and flat. There are a lot of interesting ideas floating around here, but for one reason or another nothing is compelling, as we will soon discover.
Boris Karloff, the man who couldn't be killed! There are a lot of variations on this theme in his body of work. Is he alive or dead, through supernatural or scientific means? Unfortunately that's not the case here, instead he's about to be executed in a very ordinary way. This is a story which starts at the end, although there isn't enough initial detail to make this a good hook. This problem follows almost every plot development as things progress. Weird and interesting things happen, but nobody seems that invested and it's never shot in an exciting way. Instead there are a lot of diary entries being read out loud. Even the car wreck that starts all of this in motion is strangely casual, without any sort of tension.
Professor Kingsley (Stanley Ridges) is run down in the street during a chase involving Red Cannon, a gangster with a hidden stash of loot. Dr. Sovac (Karloff) is his best friend, and rushes to try and save him from a fatal head injury. The crook on the other hand is paralysed from the waist down, his body broken. Learning that Red has a large sum hidden away, Sovac should really have lied to the man or drugged him to learn the secret. Instead he decides that a partial brain transplant, some of Red into Kingsley's body, will be the best idea. Brain transplants are silly enough, but this is on another level. Of course it's all just an excuse to have the good natured literature teacher and the murderous hood in the same body.
The immediate image this all conjures up is one of Jekyll and Hyde. A dark and twisted idea, mixed with a few comments on the nature of the human mind. Add in a few crime thriller elements and this should be a winning idea. But there are no dark and dramatic scenes of transformation. No conflicting personality traits, or even battling psyches. Instead it's just a meandering tale in which Sovak takes his old friend on a trip, just hoping that Red's mind will surface. To be fair they do stay at one of his old hideouts in a New York hotel, in order to make the right memories appear. It seems like random chance that this idea actually works. However, soon gangsters connected to the money are being killed off. Kingsley really isn't being very scientific about all this.
Meanwhile Eric Marnay (Bela Lugosi) and the rest of the old gang sit around wondering what's going on. Lugosi is given nothing interesting to do besides get trapped in a closet after a scuffle at the waterfront. There are no long shadows, and there's no misty alleyway atmosphere. With a killer on the loose and a man's mind being split, it should all be far more gripping. Style over substance can often be an issue, but this is begging for far more of it. But the only element of style is the occasional newspaper headline, along with the same repeating dramatic sting. Somehow The Devil Bat managed to do better on that front. Even scenes in which Dr. Sovac is about to be caught are are weirdly casual and bland.
Stanley Ridges in his dual role is at least great in each of the two parts. It's just a shame that the switch between mild mannered professor and ruthless mobster happens in a moment. There's no build-up or drama. But the personality swap is pretty interesting to watch. Even if the swap between curly old man mop and slicked back wise-guy hair makes no sense. The nature of his condition is also pretty inconsistent. It's never clear if everyone can see the change, as in some cases people see a difference and in others they're fooled. Perhaps if Karloff had taken the part as planned this could all be different. But then again he has no scenes with Lugosi so good maybe good ideas were never on the cards.
It's a strange movie to say the least. Imagine a brain operation sequence, with these actors in this period, but without flashing electricity and wild laboratory equipment. It seems impossible, but someone went to the trouble of removing all the most cinematic elements from this premise. Instead Kingsley just kind of does it all off screen, on a whim. He never even does any follow up research to find out how two minds can co-exist, or what triggers each one to resurface. It's also a money driven revenge drama without any suspense or drama. Each piece of the puzzle has been dried out and sterilised, which is even strange when the publicity art is all great. In the end this is a lesser known entry to the Universal catalogue, and it's easy to see why.
2/5
BONUS REVIEW
WHITE ZOMBIE (1932)
Time for a pallet cleanse, and a return to a time when style was everything. Cameras peer through castle architecture. Silhouetted figures wander the night. Sinister faces appear in reflections. There are big title cards, matte paintings and soulless ghouls. Not a lot in this story makes sense and in some ways the whole thing is a big anticlimax. But there is something about the era which is, appropriately, hypnotic. Even if the budget is low and the big sets are all recycled from other features. It's sometimes a ramshackle affair, and there are still repeating musical stings. But then again it's a story starring Bela Lugosi as a magician called Murder Legendre. What exactly is his plan? Why are some zombies dead and others are just mesmerised? It's never really clear.
The narrative is concerned with zombie-to-be Madeleine, (Madge Bellamy) and a plantation owner Beaumont (Robert Frazer) who wants to steal her away before her wedding. After she arrives in Haiti, Beaumont enlists the help of Legendre who starts a voodoo scheme involving wax figures and poisoned wine. His powers, and why he's been using them to enlist workers in a sugar mill, are never explored. Perhaps it's best that he's so mysterious, but then again some context for his plan would have been nice. What does he need the money or the girl for? Why did he try to help Beaumont only to betray him later? Why is the magic sometimes unstoppable and sometimes lacking focus?
These kind of questions hang over the whole picture. At one point a zombie falls into machinery and it's never commented on. So much for quality assurance. There are a lot of strange moments like this, and the whole thing keeps moving past them at a brisk pace. Maybe it's an effort to avoid anyone asking these kinds of questions. As a result it really is style over substance, but it's fun while it lasts. Lugosi's pronunciation of 'monsieur' is never matched with a consistent French accent, but he's a memorable villain. In the best scene he drugs Beaumont and watches his stupor develop. The one hint at his back-story, in which he explains who the other zombies once where, is also great. It's a film that can be watched over and over, in spite of the same anomalies always being present.
3/5
